Gringa and Groom: Getting Two Vacations Out of One Event

Mr. Lion and I really wanted to go to the Alps for our honeymoon, but it just wasn't in the cards this year. After graduating from grad school and law school, starting our first grown-up jobs, and paying for most of our wedding, there was no way we could afford the trip, or the time off for such a long trip. We decided to put it off, but for how long? Going to Europe during the summer can be really expensive because it's tourist season. Munich during the fall would be really crowded due to Oktoberfest, and there was no way Mr. Lion was going anywhere colder than Atlanta during the winter. So, we decided to go next spring, for our one year anniversary.

We solved that problem, but we still didn't have a clue as to what we were doing for our honeymoon. Then it hit us: why don't we just do a second, smaller trip? Lots of Bees have blogged about the concept of a Minimoon, and we decided to jump on that bandwagon.

We wanted to go somewhere within driving distance, so we narrowed it down to Savannah, Charleston, and Asheville. Savannah and Charleston, though both awesome destinations, are beach towns. Mr. Lion and I are both Floridians, so we wanted to try to avoid sealevel and try something a little different. Thus, we decided on Asheville.

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We started shopping around for bed and breakfast inns. You'd think we'd prioritize logical things like location and price, but no. We looked at two factors: food, and whether or not it was pet-friendly. What! How cute would it be to bring Lion Corgi hiking with us?

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Granted, those are probably the Rockies and that is not our dog; but I imagine it would look something like that.

We decided on the Black Walnut Inn. The menu looked delicious, and they had pet-friendly cottages. Look how pretty!

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We're spending our wedding night here in Atlanta, then we're going to drive to North Carolina and spend two more nights at the B&B before returning to work. I'm glad we get to take a small vacation, but it doesn't leave a lot of time to explore! We found a great food tour and a brewery tour that sounded like fun, but neither are offered on the days we plan to be there. We could always do Biltmore...